Relational Resilience in Māori,Pacific, and European Sole Parent Families: From Theory and Research to Social Policy

This study reports findings and policy recommendations from a research project that applied a relational resilience framework to a study of 60 sole parent families in New Zealand, with approximately equal numbers of Māori, Pacific, and European (White) participants. The sole parent families involved were already known to be resilient and the study focused on identifying the relationships and strategies underlying the achievement and maintenance of their resilience. The study was carried out to provide an evidence base for the development and implementation of policies and interventions to both support sole parent families who have achieved resilience and assist those who struggle to do so. The three populations shared many similarities in their pathways to becoming sole parents and the challenges they faced as sole parents. The coping strategies underlying their demonstrated resilience were also broadly similar, but the ways in which they were carried out did vary in a manner that particularly reflected cultural practices in terms of their reliance upon extended family‐based support or support from outside the family. The commonalities support the appropriateness of the common conceptual framework used, whereas the differences underline the importance of developing nuanced policy responses that take into account cultural differences between the various populations to which policy initiatives are directed.     

Narrative Approaches to Organizational Development: A Case Study of Implementation of Collaborative Helping

Across North America, community agencies and state/provincial jurisdictions are embracing family‐centered approaches to service delivery that are grounded in strength‐based, culturally responsive, accountable partnerships with families. This article details a collaborative consultation process to initiate and sustain organizational change toward this effort. It draws on innovative ideas from narrative theory, organizational development, and implementation science to highlight a three component approach. This approach includes the use of appreciative inquiry focus groups to elicit existing best practices, the provision of clinical training, and ongoing coaching with practice leaders to build on those better moments and develop concrete practice frameworks, and leadership coaching and organizational consultation to develop organizational structures that institutionalize family‐centered practice. While the article uses a principle‐based practice framework, Collaborative Helping, to illustrate this process, the approach is applicable with a variety of clinical frameworks grounded in family‐centered values and principles.     

Experiences of Families Transmitting Values in a Rapidly Changing Society: Implications for Family Therapists

Intergenerational value transmission affects parent–child relationships and necessitates constant negotiation in families. Families with adolescents from rapidly changing societies face unique challenges in balancing the traditional collectivistic family values that promote harmony with emerging values that promote autonomy. Using modern Turkey as an example of such a culture, the authors examine the transmission process in families that hold more traditional and collectivistic values than their adolescent children. Special consideration is given to generational and cultural differences in the autonomy and relatedness dimensions.     

Romantic heartbreak: Prevalence,personality traits,and personal stories

Across four studies (N = 4,381, M_age = 39.17 years, 56% female, 67% White, 12% Hispanic/Latinx, 11% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 9% Black/African American) the experience of heartbreak was considered within trait and narrative research paradigms. Participants indicated if they have ever experienced, and were currently experiencing, heartbreak. Personality traits, attachment styles, and narrative accounts of heartbreak were also assessed. Across all studies, 82% of participants indicated experiencing heartbreak and this event was largely unrelated to demographic and personality characteristics whereas 14% of participants reported being in a current state of heartbreak and these individuals were more likely to be single, neurotic, and insecurely attached. Lastly, storying heartbreak as leading to self‐improvement related positively with secure attachment.     

Even experienced phone users drive worse while texting – A driving simulator study

Several studies have clearly shown that texting on a mobile phone increases crash risk (e.g. Dingus et al., 2006; Victor et al., 2014). However, the frequency of texting while driving still remains high (e.g. Vollrath, Huemer, Teller & Likhacheva, 2016). One reason may be that drivers are convinced that they are able to manage this dual task due to their competency in driving and texting. From a theoretical point of view, this may be true within limits – two well-learned, automatically processed tasks may require so few resources most of the time that interferences may not occur.In order to test this assumption, a study with a standardized driving simulator task (the lane change task, LCT; Mattes, 2003) was done with n = 40 drivers selected for their driving experience and tested for their texting abilities. The effect of driving experience (high vs. low) and texting competence (high vs. low) on driving performance was examined in single (driving only) and dual-task (driving and texting) conditions. Additionally, a subjective assessment of one’s task performance was obtained. Texting on the mobile phone significantly impaired driving performance. While driving experience did not have an influence, the deteriorating effect of texting was significantly less pronounced in highly competent phone users. Interestingly, this objective effect was not found in the subjective assessment. Drivers with a high texting competence felt as impaired as drivers with a low texting competence. This is in line with the finding that even in this simple driving task their performance was still significantly deteriorated as compared to driving, only. Thus, it seems that the reason why people text while driving is not that they are not aware of the performance loss. However, this awareness of the possible risk does not seem sufficient to prevent them from texting while driving.     

团队中帮助行为的多水平整合模型

团队中帮助行为包含团队成员个体帮助行为, 成员-成员的人际帮助, 以及团队帮助行为。既有研究聚焦于团队中个体帮助行为的积极作用, 忽视了施助者与受助者之间的二元关系影响、以团队为研究层级的帮助行为机理及团队中不同层级间的影响效应研究。研究提出团队中帮助行为的多水平整合理论模型框架, 认为未来研究应进一步探讨团队帮助行为的涌现溢出机制及团队中帮助行为可能存在的负面效应的内在心理机制。     

Enhancing parental reflective functioning through early dyadic interventions: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is an important predictor of infant attachment, and interventions that target parent–infant/toddler dyads who are experiencing significant problems have the potential to improve PRF. A range of dyadic interventions have been developed over the past two decades, some of which explicitly target PRF as part of their theory of change, and some that do not explicitly target PRF, but that have measured it as an outcome. However, no meta‐analytic review of the impact of these interventions has been carried out to date. The aim of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of dyadic interventions targeting parents of infant and toddlers, in improving PRF and a number of secondary outcomes. A systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted in which key electronic databases were searched up to October 2018. Eligible studies were identified and data extracted. Data were synthesised using meta‐analysis and expressed as both effect sizes and risk ratios. Six studies were identified providing a total of 521 participants. The results of six meta‐analyses showed a nonsignificant moderate improvement in PRF in the intervention group (standardised mean difference [SMD]: –0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] [–0.97, 0.04]) and a significant reduction in disorganised attachment (risk ratio: 0.50; 95% CI [0.27, 0.90]). There was no evidence for intervention effects on attachment security (odds ratio: 0.71; 95% CI [0.19, 2.64]), parent–infant interaction (SMD: –0.10; 95% CI [–0.46, 0.26]), parental depression (SMD: –1.55; 95% CI [–3.74, 0.64]) or parental global distress (SMD: –0.19, 95% CI [–3.04, 22.65]). There were insufficient data to conduct subgroup analysis (i.e. to compare the effectiveness of mentalisation‐based treatment with non‐mentalization‐based treatment interventions). Relational early interventions may have important benefits in improving PRF and reducing the prevalence of attachment disorganisation. The implications for future research are discussed.     

Developmental patterns of emotion regulation in toddlerhood: Examining predictors of change and long‐term resilience

Emotion regulation is critical for optimal functioning across a wide range of domains and may be even more important for individuals in high‐risk environments. While evidence suggests that childhood is generally a period of emotion regulation growth and development, research is needed to examine factors that may contribute to deviations from a typical trajectory. In a prospective study of 1,905 children, latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was used to identify trajectory groups of emotion regulation across toddlerhood (age 14–36 months), examine predictors of those trajectory groups from child temperament, parenting behaviors, and environmental risk, and explore predictions of resilience in 5th grade from the identified groups. LGCA supported a three‐class model, with a Stable Incline group, a Decline group, and a Catch‐Up group. Child negative emotionality, positive and negative parenting, and environmental risk predicted group membership. These trajectory groups in toddlerhood were predictive of child resilient functioning in the 5th grade. Our findings highlight the importance of utilizing developmental models of emotion regulation and provide implications for prevention and early intervention services to enhance emotion regulation development in early childhood.     

Mitigating racial microaggressions on campus: Documenting targets’ responses

In this qualitative study, the authors examined responses to racial microaggressions among undergraduate Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) (N = 36) at a large Canadian university. To this end, we employed the consensual qualitative research method (CQR; Hill et al., 2005; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997; Hill, 2012) among seven focus groups. Canadian undergraduate student participants, who self-identified as East Asian (n = 7), South Asian (n = 7), Arab (n = 9), Black (n = 7), and Indigenous (n = 6), expressed four strategic responses to racial microaggressions: using humor to mitigate tension, seeking community and solidarity for support, avoiding or withdrawing for protection and confronting perpetrators and challenging stereotypes. Findings demonstrated the dialectic between avoiding and confronting racial microaggressions, the nuanced role of using humor as a response strategy, and the importance of social support for BIPOC students. Findings are consistent with and extend current proposals of microinterventions. Social identity markers and power dynamics influenced students’ response strategies. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.